ANTHONY JOSHUA has landed the first blow ahead of his mammoth winter 2026 showdown with Tyson Fury by hitting him in the wallet.
The 36-year-old London 2012 legend maintained his lofty spot in the Sunday Times’ annual Rich List, thanks to a rumoured £40million gimmick-fight win over American YouTuber Jake Paul in December.
The Watford hero is credited with a £240m fortune that places him in No8 on the roll call of the UK’s biggest earners.
Bernie Ecclestone and his family top the charts with £2bn in the bank, Sir David and Victoria Beckham take silver with £1.185bn in the pocket and AJ’s career-long backers Barry and Eddie Hearn at Matchroom promotions £1.035bn, thanks to their boxing, darts and snooker empire.
The 37-year-old Gypsy King has now burst onto the biggest-money scene.
But his £162m cotchel – boosted by another reality TV show exposing his family on Netflix – is only enough to score him 9th spot, one below his heavyweight nemesis.
And just above Harry Kane and Sir Andy Murray who share 10th.
The victory could not have come at a better time for the former two-time world champ, who has signed his half of the deal to finally face Fury before the start of 2027, as Fury started whipping up the mind games this week.
After Daniel Dubois put on a sensation performance on Saturday night in Manchester, stopping freakishly tough Fabio Wardley on his weary feet, Fury reminded the world how the 28-year-old dealt with Joshua in far more brutal fashion when they clashed in 2024.
The goading Isle of Man tax exile said on his Instagram channel: “I’ve just been sat here thinking, after Dubois’ unbelievable fight last night.
“Dubois fought ‘Big Baby’ [Jarrell] Miller, stopped him, never put him down.
“Then he fought [Filip] Hrgovic, stopped him, but never put him down. He fought Wardley last night in an unbelievable fight, stopped him, never put him down.
“He hit [Oleksandr] Usyk with some big bombs, never put him over. But yet he fights Anthony Joshua and pummels him, puts him to the floor five times.”
Fury continued: “I’m not saying Anthony Joshua’s chinless, but they’re the facts. Take it as you wish and as you will.
“Everybody else never went over, not a single person – Big Baby Miller, Hrgovic, Usyk or Wardley, but Joshua goes down five times.
Fury concluded before laughing: “Chinny, get up!”
AJ will boost his coffers even more this summer when he enjoys a knock-over win over unknown Albanian Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia.
And – not contend with milking the UK boxing crowd with an easy stay-busy win over Arslanbek Makhmudov last month, Fury is now pushing for another keep-warm fight in August.
